European payments news

What moves card acceptance in Europe, day by day: acquirers, terminals, schemes and regulation, each development summarised with its source. Free, no ads, no paywall.

The most important ones every Tuesday by email
Wed
30 Sep 2026
PartnershipWeroFive domestic payment schemes incorporate the European Network for Payments in Madrid to run a shared interoperability hubM&AStripeStripe agrees to acquire embedded-lending platform Parafin to put working capital into its 18,000 platform customersProductWeroPayconiq is switched off in Luxembourg as five banks move their customers and merchants to Wero
Mon
28 Sep 2026
RegulatoryDigital Euro RegulationECB opens a second wave of digital euro innovation work and invites merchants to apply
Wed
23 Sep 2026
PartnershipAdyenAdyen becomes Flatpay's acquiring and embedded-finance backbone across seven European markets
Tue
22 Sep 2026
ProductMollieMollie-owned GoCardless runs the UK's first agentic account-to-account payment in the FCA's AI testing programmeLeadershipAdyenNiclas Neglen to join Adyen as new Chief Financial Officer
Mon
21 Sep 2026
ProductBizumBizum in-store payments reach 1.6 million merchants in Spain
Fri
18 Sep 2026
FinancialRevolutStoronsky confirms Revolut is planning a dual Nasdaq and London listing
Thu
17 Sep 2026
FinancialTrustlySwedish fintech Trustly to cut around 200 jobsCompetitive winEuronet Merchant ServicesMunich Airport makes epay its central payment partnerPartnershipNexiNexi puts ReFiBuy's catalogue optimisation behind its merchant base for AI shopping agentsStrategyRevolutRevolut applies for a Swiss banking licence and commits CHF 150 million
Wed
16 Sep 2026
RegulatoryGirocardGermany's retail association rejects the planned card-acceptance duty and makes surcharging its price for accepting oneRegulatoryEU Surcharging BanGerman retail federation rejects the planned card-acceptance duty and demands the right to surcharge
Tue
15 Sep 2026
FinancialNew Payments Architecture / Interbank Infrastructure RenewalUK banks and payment firms start a £50m equity raise to capitalise the Payments Delivery Company through 2028RegulatoryDigital euroECB opens the digital euro pilot to euro-area e-commerce merchants
Mon
14 Sep 2026
ProductWorldlineWorldline launches a Universal Commerce Protocol payment handler on Global Collect
Fri
11 Sep 2026
RegulatoryGirocardGerman finance ministry sets out plans to force shops, restaurants and services to accept a digital payment method from 2027ProductWeroFnac Darty starts testing Wero for Merchants on fnac.com, with a full launch set for early 2027
Thu
10 Sep 2026
PartnershipVisaVisa, Mastercard and Ant International agree to make their three agent-identity protocols interoperable under a Know Your Agent framework
Wed
9 Sep 2026
RegulatoryeIDAS 2.0 / EU Digital Identity WalletGermany names its EUDI wallet "d-you" and fixes a 2 January 2027 launch with about 40 partners, banks and HDE among themProductMastercardMastercard opens Agent Connect so merchants reach AI shopping agents through a single integrationProductMastercardMastercard launches Wallet Pay to plug digital wallets into its acceptance network over NFC, QR and online
Tue
8 Sep 2026
PartnershipWeroBNP Paribas puts Air France, Decathlon and Fnac Darty behind Wero for Merchants as the scheme opens French e-commerce
Mon
7 Sep 2026
ProductRevolutRevolut and Visa run France's first passkey-authenticated payment initiated by an AI agent
Thu
3 Sep 2026
StrategyFiservFiserv weighs selling one of its two debit networks and collapsing 14 gateways into one
Wed
2 Sep 2026
PartnershipVR PaymentTransgourmet and VR Payment launch tgPAY, a card acceptance package sold through a foodservice wholesaler
Tue
1 Sep 2026
ProductWeroWero goes live in Luxembourg on 1 September, with Payconiq shutting down on 30 SeptemberProductWeroOrange becomes the first merchant in France to take recurring bill payments over WeroStrategyPayPal HoldingsPayPal cuts staff under Enrique Lores as it chases USD 400m of run-rate savings after the failed Stripe bidM&AMollieMollie closes its EUR 1.05-1.1bn acquisition of GoCardless, creating a 350,000-merchant European group
Fri
28 Aug 2026
M&APayPal HoldingsAdvent and Stripe abandon their $53bn pursuit of PayPal
Tue
25 Aug 2026
FinancialGirocardgirocard reaches 1.4 million terminals in H1 2026 as the average basket falls to EUR 36.12
Mon
24 Aug 2026
Competitive winViva.comViva.com wins the Cypriot state's payments contract, displacing JCC after 16 years
Thu
20 Aug 2026
ProductWeroWero reaches the physical point of sale for the first time via ZIIB's white-label QR solutionCompetitive windm-drogerie marktdm adds Wero to its online shop, becoming the second major German retailer to accept the account-to-account wallet
Wed
19 Aug 2026
FinancialFlatpayFlatpay tripled revenue to EUR 39m in 2025 but widened its operating loss to EUR 70m
Tue
18 Aug 2026
FinancialKlarnaKlarna Q2 2026: profit returns but full-year GMV guidance cut on softer German spending
Mon
17 Aug 2026
M&APayPal HoldingsPayPal reportedly in talks to sell itself to Stripe and Advent InternationalFinancialIngenicoIngenico secures 150m EUR from PIMCO-led investors to reset capital structure and fund cloud shift
Fri
14 Aug 2026
M&APayPal HoldingsPayPal-Stripe/Advent takeover talks advance toward a possible deal, WSJ reports
Thu
13 Aug 2026
FinancialAdyenAdyen H1 2026: net revenue €1,302.9m (+21% cc), volume €803.8bn, FY guidance raised to 21-23%ProductWorldlineWorldline and Lissi launch a managed hub for European digital identity walletsRegulatoryDigital euroECB survey: cash acceptance rises to 92% of euro area companies, mobile acceptance nearly doubles
Wed
12 Aug 2026
ProductPPROPPRO and BLIK build agent-initiated payments for Poland's dominant e-commerce methodFinancialYunoYuno raises $45m Series B to scale its payment orchestration platform
Tue
11 Aug 2026
ProductWeroN26 adds Wero to its app in Germany and France
Mon
10 Aug 2026
M&AVerifoneFrancisco Partners signs C$2bn deal to buy Moneris, deepening the payments platform that also owns VerifoneRegulatoryRevolutRevolut receives French banking licence, making Paris its Western European base
Thu
6 Aug 2026
ProductEPI CompanyEPI pushes Wero's Luxembourg launch to 1 September as Payconiq's September shutdown nearsFinancialFiservFiserv Q2 2026: organic revenue down 5%, full-year guidance cut again as Merchant Solutions margin slips
Wed
5 Aug 2026
ProductWeroAmazon starts Wero in the German checkout, with iDEAL to be retired by the end of 2027FinancialGlobal PaymentsGlobal Payments Q2 2026: 4% normalised growth, guidance trimmed on Middle East travel disruption
Mon
3 Aug 2026
M&AVisaVisa to acquire behavioural-biometrics firm BioCatch for $2.4bn in cash
Fri
31 Jul 2026
M&AWorldlineWorldline finalises ANZ Australia and India divestments, closing its disposal programme
Thu
30 Jul 2026
FinancialWorldlineWorldline H1 2026: Merchant Services up 1.8% organically, leverage below 2x six months early
Wed
29 Jul 2026
FinancialNexiNexi H1 2026: revenue +1.0%, 5% underlying as Italian bank contract losses bite
Tue
28 Jul 2026
FinancialPayPal HoldingsPayPal Q2 2026: branded checkout up 2% for a second quarter, European markets stabilise
Wed
22 Jul 2026
PartnershipKlarnaKlarna takes its instalments in store at lululemon in the UK and Germany
Tue
21 Jul 2026
ProductDecathlonDecathlon Germany goes live with Wero on decathlon.de, the first Decathlon market to adopt itProductGirocardgirocard to gain pre-authorisation and in-app payments, opening up deposit use cases
Fri
17 Jul 2026
M&APayPal HoldingsPayPal board deems $53bn Stripe–Advent takeover offer inadequate
Wed
15 Jul 2026
RegulatoryKlarna BankUK buy-now-pay-later enters FCA regulation, with affordability checks and Section 75 at checkoutProductMastercardMastercard launches Wallet Services so banks and merchants can build contactless into their own appsCompetitive winWorldlineECB selects Worldline for the Eurosystem digital euro pilot as acquiring and technical service provider
Tue
14 Jul 2026
ProductBizumBizum Pay goes live in Spanish shops, taking account-to-account payments to the terminalPartnershipVisaLinux Foundation launches x402 Foundation with Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Stripe and Adyen as premier membersRegulatoryUK Open Banking / Pay by BankHM Treasury consults on replacing the UK payments rulebook with FCA rulesFinancialEPI CompanyNopan raises €7.2m and joins EPI as a principal member to push Wero at large merchants
Tue
7 Jul 2026
RegulatoryUnzerGerman prosecutors file first charges in €300m 'Operation Chargeback' PSP fraud; Unzer founder Hüllemann indicted
Thu
2 Jul 2026
ProductVisaVisa takes agentic commerce live at independent European merchants with 30+ issuers, including Frasers and lastminute.com
Wed
1 Jul 2026
StrategySumUpSumUp launches consumer personal accounts with merchant-network cashback across six markets
Tue
30 Jun 2026
M&AWorldlineCrédit Agricole buys out Worldline's stake in CAWL merchant-payments JV in FranceFinancialBR-DGEBR-DGE raises £10m led by Bettor Capital to expand payment orchestration beyond gamingPartnershipUSDC (stablecoin acceptance)140+ payments and banking firms launch 'Open USD', a consortium-governed stablecoin, with Adyen, Worldline, Fiserv, Checkout.com and Nuvei as partners
Mon
29 Jun 2026
LeadershipWorldlineWorldline director Daniel Schmucki (SIX Group nominee) resigns; board cut to 11
Fri
19 Jun 2026
Competitive winCheckout.comMicrosoft picks Checkout.com to power EMEA card acceptance for Xbox, 365 and Azure
Tue
16 Jun 2026
ProductAdyenAdyen launches 'Adyen Agentic', modular APIs for AI-agent commerce
Mon
15 Jun 2026
LeadershipFiservFiserv names Takis Georgakopoulos CEO as Mike Lyons departs to lead Truist
Tue
9 Jun 2026
ProductSantanderGetnet launches infrastructure for merchants to accept AI agent-initiated payments
Tue
2 Jun 2026
ProductPAX TechnologyDojo launches 'Dojo Go Max' UK terminal powered by PAX A920 MAX
1 Jun 2026
StrategyCiontekCiontek (Shenzhen Android OEM) scales European entry via Viva.com VivaPos terminals
Thu
7 May 2026
FinancialNexiNexi Q1 2026: revenue +1.0% (5% underlying), EBITDA margin 48.3%, dividend +20%, FY guidance confirmed under new CEO MingroneFinancialGlobal PaymentsGlobal Payments Q1 2026: Worldpay salesforce selling Genius; EMEA revenue ~€600m, Subway 2,500-location win
Wed
6 May 2026
FinancialGlobal PaymentsGlobal Payments Q1 2026: first full quarter with Worldpay beats expectations; Genius bookings nearly double y/y; FY guidance reaffirmed
Sun
3 May 2026
PartnershipVerifoneFrancisco Partners (Verifone owner) in talks to acquire Moneris for $2bn+
1 May 2026
M&AWorldlineWorldline unwinds ANZ Australia JV: ANZ buys back 51% stake for €54M (paid €300M in 2022), completing full retreat from non-European markets
Wed
29 Apr 2026
M&ANexiCVC Capital Partners weighs ~€9bn bid to take Nexi private
Tue
28 Apr 2026
FinancialWorldlineWorldline Q1 2026: Merchant Services returns to growth (+1.6%) for first time since Q4 2024; 2026 outlook confirmed; reverse 40:1 stock split set for May
Wed
15 Apr 2026
ProductWorldlineWorldline and YouLend launch Cash Advance financing for Polish SMEs
Tue
14 Apr 2026
M&AWorldlineWorldline divests New Zealand activities (Paymark) to Cuscal for €17M; combined disposal proceeds estimated at €560-610M
Mon
13 Apr 2026
FinancialWorldlineGoldman Sachs downgrades Worldline to Sell from Neutral; JPMorgan cuts target to €0.30 from €1.30
1 Apr 2026
FinancialFiservFiserv Q1 2026: organic revenue -3.6%, operating margin compressed 810bps; EPS beat but stock continues to slide
Tue
31 Mar 2026
FinancialWorldlineWorldline announces successful completion of €392M rights issue; €500M capital raise fully executed
Wed
25 Mar 2026
LeadershipNexiNexi names Bernardo Mingrone CEO, succeeding Paolo Bertoluzzo
Tue
24 Mar 2026
M&AWeroWorldpay joins EPI to offer Wero acceptance to European merchants
Thu
19 Mar 2026
FinancialPAX TechnologyPAX delivers solid 2025 results: EMEA largest revenue region at HK$2.15B; new CEO appointed Dec 2025
Wed
18 Mar 2026
PartnershipIngenicoIngenico and Visa collaborate to accelerate unified commerce solutions via AXIUM + Visa Acceptance PlatformLeadershipElavonElavon names Wally Mlynarski as CEO, succeeding Jamie Walker
Thu
12 Mar 2026
FinancialWorldlineWorldline launches €392M rights issue, the final step of its €500M capital raiseStrategyWorldlineWorldline's recovery plan: 30% workforce reduction, €500M raise, and strategic refocus
Wed
11 Mar 2026
PartnershipVerifoneVerifone partners with Thales for eSIM-based global terminal connectivity
Fri
6 Mar 2026
FinancialWorldlineWorldline launches €108M reserved capital increase with Bpifrance, Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas
Thu
5 Mar 2026
FinancialNexiNexi shares plunge 22% to record low after cautious three-year plan unveiled
Mon
2 Mar 2026
M&AWorldlineWorldline finalises divestment of North American activities to Shift4
1 Mar 2026
StrategyBarclaysBarclaycard Payments terminates ePDQ e-commerce gateway, forcing merchants to reapply for new MIDsProductGlobal PaymentsGlobal Payments begins integrating European operations with Worldpay; launches Genius POS platform in Germany and IrelandFinancialGlobal PaymentsGlobal Payments completes $1B debt offering and announces $2.5B buyback programmeProductPAX TechnologyBluefin launches BluePOS payment software exclusively for PAX terminals
Mon
23 Feb 2026
PartnershipSUNMISUNMI partners with OPP (Worldline subsidiary) for embedded payments across European SaaS platforms
Thu
19 Feb 2026
PartnershipVR PaymentVR Payment showcases SoftPOS, Omnichannel Gateway, and Wero at EuroShop 2026; terminal estate grows to 330,000
Wed
18 Feb 2026
M&AWorldpayGlobal Payments outlines post-acquisition strategy as pure-play acquirer
Tue
10 Feb 2026
ProductIngenicoIngenico launches next-generation AXIUM device family and Ingenico 360 unified cloud platform at Paytech 2026
1 Feb 2026
LeadershipIngenicoIngenico Paytech 2026: CEO de Kort signals shift from hardware company to software-driven platform
Tue
27 Jan 2026
Competitive winCastles TechnologyCastles Technology wins Loomis Pay European rollout across Nordics and Spain
Thu
22 Jan 2026
FinancialFiservFiserv faces deepening crisis: 65% stock decline in 2025, Clover struggles, securities lawsuit
Thu
15 Jan 2026
RegulatoryVisaUK High Court upholds PSR power to cap Visa/Mastercard cross-border interchange
Tue
13 Jan 2026
ProductIngenicoIngenico launches stablecoin payments at physical POS via WalletConnect Pay partnership
Mon
12 Jan 2026
M&AWorldpayGlobal Payments completes $24.25B acquisition of Worldpay from GTCR/FISLeadershipGlobal PaymentsGlobal Payments CEO Cameron Bready discusses Worldpay integration on CNBCM&AGlobal PaymentsGlobal Payments completes portfolio restructuring: acquires Worldpay, divests Issuer Solutions
Thu
8 Jan 2026
PartnershipVerifoneVerifone expands Victa portfolio and announces Shopify, Bilt, Aevi partnerships at NRF 2026
1 Jan 2026
M&ANexiNexi acquires majority stake in Banca Popolare di Sondrio's merchant services for €100MFinancialIngenicoIngenico debt downgraded by S&P: 9% H1 2025 revenue decline, Tetra erosion not offset by Android growth, covenant breach risk in 2026M&ANewland Payment TechnologyNewland NPT expands European presence: acquires NewNote operations in France/Spain, achieves Girocard certification in Germany
Tue
16 Dec 2025
OtherVisaVisa enables USDC settlement for US issuers and acquirers on VisaNet
1 Dec 2025
FinancialUK Open Banking / Pay by BankUK open banking passes 16m users; 351m payments in 2025 as commercial VRP scheme readiesOtherUSDC (stablecoin acceptance)USDC advances toward mainstream acceptance as both card networks adopt stablecoin settlement
Sun
16 Nov 2025
ProductWeroWero launches e-commerce payments in Germany with first wave of merchants
Tue
28 Oct 2025
LeadershipIngenicoIngenico appoints Floris de Kort as CEO, effective 1 November 2025
Thu
9 Oct 2025
RegulatorySEPA Instant Credit TransferIPR send mandate and mandatory Verification of Payee take effect in the euro area
Wed
10 Sep 2025
ProductKlarnaKlarna debuts on NYSE in largest IPO of 2025, valued around $15-19bn
1 Aug 2025
PartnershipMastercardMastercard and Circle enable USDC/EURC settlement for acquirers in EEMEA
1 Jul 2025
M&ASantanderSantander/PagoNxt shuts down Getnet Germany; refocuses acquiring on Latin America and Iberia
Mon
2 Jun 2025
ProductVisaVisa launches A2A 'pay by bank' platform with card-like protections in the UK
Thu
17 Apr 2025
M&ABarclaysBarclays enters strategic partnership with Brookfield to carve out merchant acquiring as standalone entity
Thu
9 Jan 2025
OtherSEPA Instant Credit TransferEU Instant Payments Regulation: euro-area PSPs must be able to receive instant payments
1 Jan 2025
Competitive winCartes BancairesFrench banks roll out CB on Apple Pay in co-badge mode through 2025
Tue
31 Dec 2024
Othergiropaygiropay discontinued as German banks pivot to Wero
Fri
22 Nov 2024
OtherGirocardApple Pay enabled for the digital girocard, starting with Commerzbank
Thu
11 Jul 2024
RegulatoryApple PayEuropean Commission accepts Apple commitments to open iPhone NFC to rival wallets